Swansea City are safely into the third round of the Carabao Cup – but head coach Alan Sheehan admitted his side had allowed Plymouth Argyle to push them all the way to penalties.
The Swans eventually prevailed 5-3 in a shoot-out at the Swansea.com Stadium after a 1-1 draw, with Melker Widell slotting the decisive spot-kick following Andy Fisher’s save from Matthew Sorinola.
Zan Vipotnik’s thunderous first-half strike looked set to put Swansea on course for routine progress, only for Brendan Wiredu to head Plymouth level on the stroke of half time.
That equaliser, Sheehan felt, changed the complexion of the tie and allowed the visitors to grow in belief.
“We asked to get through to the next round and we got the job done. I think we made it more difficult than we perhaps should have,” said Sheehan.
“In the first half I was happy with a lot of things – we controlled the game for 43 minutes until the set-piece which was obviously disappointing and then Plymouth came out on the front foot and it became a bit of a basketball game.
“But ultimately we stayed in the game and got through to the next round.”
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The Swans began brightly, with Vipotnik again underlining his sharpness in front of goal.
Having rescued a point against Watford at the weekend, the Slovenian forward produced a moment of quality on 22 minutes, collecting Marko Stamenic’s pass before unleashing an unstoppable 25-yard strike that cannoned in off the bar.
He nearly doubled his tally when Luca Ashby-Hammond denied him after pouncing on a sloppy back pass, while Cameron Burgess headed wide.
But Plymouth struck just before the interval, Sorinola’s searching free-kick finding Wiredu at the far post to nod beyond Fisher.
That goal shifted momentum. Finn Azaz tested Fisher after the break, while the Swansea goalkeeper also had to block efforts from Bim Pepple and Lorent Tolaj to keep the tie level.
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The contest went to penalties, where Fisher’s save from Sorinola proved pivotal before Widell coolly converted the winner to send Swansea through.
Plymouth head coach Tom Cleverley was full of praise for his players despite the narrow defeat.
“It was a terrific performance, we’re in a moment where we don’t seem to be getting what we deserve right now but it’s important the players keep believing in the right things, the right processes, and eventually that will bring results. I thought they were fantastic tonight,” said Cleverley.
For Sheehan, progress was all that mattered, but his post-match reflection carried a note of frustration.
Swansea are in the hat for the next round, yet their head coach knows they will need to be sharper to avoid similar scares in the weeks ahead.
